Motor-vehicle.



0. E. BARTHEL. MOTOR VEHICLE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 23, 1914.

Patented July 31, 1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

0. E. BARTHEL.

MOTOR VEHICLE. APPLICATION FILED sE PT. 23. 1914.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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Patented July 31, 1917.

0. E. BARTHEL. MOTOR VEHIC..E. APPLICATION man SEPT. 23. 1914,

4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

Patented July 31, 1917.

0. E. BARTHEL. MOTOR VEHICLE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 23, 1914.

Patented July 31, 1917 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

[E in UNITED STATES PATENT onnrcn.

OLIVER E. BARTHEL, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD STEEL CAB, (30.,

OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A GORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

MOTOR-VEHICLE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented July 31, 1917.

Application filed September as, 19i4. Serial No. 863,073.

To all whom it mag concern;

Be it known thatI, OLIvnR E.;"BARTHEL, a a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Detroit, in the county or} Wayne 'and State of Michigan, have'invented cer frame which are tied together by the thrust member and are arranged to give" the maximum strength and provide simplicity of construction, said thrust member being arranged with the transverse axis of its pivotal connectionsto the side members coincident with the axis of the universal joint of a driving shaft carried by said thrust member. A- further object-ofthe invention is to so mount the brake operating mechanism that the same will not be affected 'by the'movementsof the axle relative to the frame, and to provide certain other new and useful features in the construction of motor support and arrangement ofother parts, all as hereinafter more fully described, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a motor vehicle chassis embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail showing brake I supporting and-operating mechanism. in side elevation;

Fig. -4 is a similar detail showing said supporting and'operating mechanism in end elevation and aframe and. thrust or-torque member in section on the line IV'IV of Fig. 1;

' ber in plan view Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse sectionon the line 'V-- V of Fig. l;

Fig.7? is' a similar section VI- of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is' a detail showing'a socket memon the line Fig. 8 is a detail showing the socket memher in elevation;

. tending through an opening in a flange 22 Fig. 9 is a detail showing a pivot block in elevation; and v Fig. 10 is a plan view of a portion of the chassis showing a modification in the arrangement of brake mechanism.

As shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2 the vehicle is supported upon; the. usu front axle 1 provided with steering wheels 2, and a rear tubular axle 3 having driving wheels 4 and a forwardly extending torque tube 5 within which is housed a suitable drive shaft 6 for transmitting motion from suitable change speed mechanism, (not shown) contained within a casing 7 which is secured to a fly wheel casing 8 formed integral with or secured to the rear end of. the crank case of an internal combustion engine 9, the parts being all constructed and arranged in an old and well known manner. The axles are connected and the engine and load carried by a frame comprising side channel bars 10 which are straight throughout'their length in plan view and are con-' nected near their front and rear ends by cross members 11 and 12 respectively. As shown in Fig. 2, a vehicle body 13 is supported by and secured directly upon the upper edge of said frame with the radiator 14 of the vehicle above the cross member 11. An intermediate-cross member 15 also serves to tie the side frame members together, and semielliptic springs 16 are clipped intermediate their ends to'the front axle directly beneath the forward ends of said frame members,

with their ends pivotally attached in theusual manner to said frame and thus yieldingly connect the frame and front axle. The frame is yieldingly connected to and supported upon the-rear axle by three-quarter elliptic springs 17 and each of these springs is clipped intermediate its ends to the under side of the rear axle with its forward end pivotally attached to a bracket 18 extending downward from the lower sideof the side member- 10 and crossmember 15 where it joins the side member.

The engine 9 is supported at its forward end by means of an arched cross bar 20 shown in detail in Fig. 6, this bar beingsecured at each end .to a channel bar 10 of the frame by means of a single bolt 21 exprojecting downwardly adjacent to the inner slde of the channel bar and in contact with the inner end of a suitable filler block 23 within the channel and through which block and channel the bolt extends. At the center of the arch of said cross bar 20 is formed an opening or socket to receive an upwardly projecting lug 24 on the gear casing 25 at the forward end of the engine, and a single bolt 26 passes through a horizontal opening in said lug and through the bar tolform a pivotal support for the forward end of the motor, the axis of which. extends horizontally longitudinally of the motor in the vertical plane of the longitudinal axis of the motor.

The motor is supported at itsrear end by suitable arms 27 integral 'with the fly wheel casing 8 extending laterally therefrom with their end faces adjacent to the inner sides of the side channel members of the frame. Suitable filler blocks 28 are riveted or other-- wise secured in the channels of the frame members opposite the ends of the arms and each of these blocks is formed'with an inwardly extending semi-circular flange 29 forming a socket to receive a circular pivot block 30 which is free to turn therein and at its inner end and upper side is cut away or notched to form a fiat shoulder 31 or seat for a like shoulder formed by a projecting portion 32 on the end face of the adjacent arm 27 A single bolt 33 passes through axial openings in the socketofthe filler block and pivot block, and also through an opening in the end wall of the arm to pivotally hold the motor in place upon the pivot blocks and tie the side members of the frame together. These pivot blocks'form strong and accurate supports and at the same time permit of a free turningmovement of the motor relative to the frame members upon distortion due to un evenness of the road bed or surface over which the vehicle is traveling. The motor is thus pivotally suspended from the frame at three points upon which it turns freely due to the manner in which the pivots are constructed and, 'as the supporting arms of the motor are of lesser len h than the distance between the side menu ers of the frame 'The torque tube 5 which extends for-,

three bolts 26 and 33 and dropping the motor through the frame. The removal of the motor is thus facilitated as it is unnecessary to raise themotorout of the frame.

Wardly from the rear axle, is connected at' its forward end to the frame to transmit the thrust of the rear driving wheels directly 1 thereto, by providing a head34 having a bore to receivev the 'ends of the tube which is adapted to turn freely therein and is pre- Vented from longitudinal movementthe're through by any suitable means, such as collars 35 secured on the tube at each side of the head, as shown in Fig. 3. This head has laterally and forwardly extending arms 36 terminating in or otherwise provided with suitable balls 37 and secured within the channels of the frame members are brackets 38 having sockets 39 to receive the balls. The torque tube is thus directly connected to the side members of the frame to transmit the thrust directly from the rear axle to both members and the ball and socket joints form universal connections which provide for the distortion of the frame. The axle, by reasonof the turning movement of the torque tube in the head 34, is free to rock and to rise and fall relative to the frame, and by arranging the universal joint 40 in-' dicated in dotted lines in Fig. l with its axis in the plane of the axes of the ball and socket joints, any crampingor binding of the drive shaft carried by the torque tube is prevented.

The usual service and emergency brake "mechanism (not shown) is provided upon the rear axle within suitable brake drums indicated in dotted lines at 41in Fig. 1,

' and these brakes are actuated by means of two pairs of connecting rods 42 and 43 in the usual manner. In order that these brakes may not be aflected by the movements of the body frame relative to the axle, these connecting rods and the means for actuating the same are preferably mounted upon and carried by the torque tube 'or its head 34. The service brakes are operated by means of a foot pedal 44 mounted on the frame in the usual manner and connected by a rod 45 to an arm 46 on the rock shaft 4 mounted in suitable bearings secured upon a plate 48 which is bolted to the upper side of the head 34 of the torque tube. The

emergency brakes areactuated by any suitable meanson the frame (not shown) connected by a rod 49 to an arm 50 secured upon a sleeve 51 on'the shaft 47 to turn thereon independently of the shaft. In order that the pullon both of the rods leading to the 3 two emergency brakes shall be equal, they are connected to the ends of an equalizing bar 52, and attachedto this bar intermediate its ends is a! pull rod 53, the opposite end of which isattached' to the free end of an arm 54 on the sleeve 51', 'sothat turning of the sleeve by means. of the rod 49 will exert a pull on the equalizing bar and transmit'motion to' set the'brakes; The service brake rods 43 are in a like manner attached to an equalizing bar 55 which is connected intermediate its'ends by a rod 56 with an arm 57 on the shaft 47 The equalizing bars are each supported and guided in their movement. by v means of pairs of arms 58 formed by bending upwardly, projecting portions of the plate 48, the arms which support the bar 52 being bent &

Y with a frame havlng longitudinal slde mem-' up farther than those which support the bar so that the former will be supported in a plane above the latter. Each of the arms 58 is formed with a longitudinal slot 59 through which a bolt carried by the equalizing bar supported thereon, loosely extends to hold the bar in place upon its support and permit it to slide freely upon its supporting arms. The brake operating mechanism is thus supported to move with the movements of the rear axle, obviating the possibility of partially setting the brakes by a movement of the connecting rods due to a relative movement between the axle and frame. The particular construction of supporting plate for the brake operating mechanism provides asimple and efficient guide and support for the equalizing bars.

In Fig.710 thearrangement is changed in that the supporting plate 48 instead of being secured to the head 34 is made fast to the torque tube adjacent to the axle, and the rods 42 and 43 are made shorter, and the rods 45 and 49 are lengthened to extend forwardly to the operating levers on the body. Obviously the supporting plate 48 may be secured to any desired portion of the torquetube and other changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of my invention and I do .not therefore limit myself to the construction shown.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim is 1. In a motor vehicle, the combination hers, a rear axle supporting the frame, traction wheels on the axle, and a torque tube extending forwardly from the axle, .of a

head free to turn upon the forward end of the torque tube about the longitudinal axis of the-tube, and means carried by each side member of the frameforming a direct piv-' otal connection between each frame side member and said head, whereby the thrust of the traction wheels is transmitted to the side members of the frame and the axle is free to tilt and rise andfall independently of the frame.

2. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a rear axle and its traction wheels, a frame having longitudinal side members, and a torque tube extending forwardlyirom said axle, of a head on the forward end of said tube free to turn about the longitudinal axis of said tube, laterally and forwardly extending arms on said head with their outer ends pivotally connected to the side frame members, a drive shaft extending through said torque .tube, and a universal joint in said shaft with its pivotal axis in the horizontal plane of the axes of the pivotal connections of saidarms to the frame.

3. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a rear axle and its traction wheels, a

frame having longitudinal side members,

shaft adjacent to the end of the tube, of

head free to turn upon said tube about the longitudinal axis thereof, a pair of arms on said head extending laterally therefrom and forwardly at each side of said universal joint, balls on the ends of said arms, and socket members on the side members of the frame to receive the balls and pivotally connect the same to said frame members.

4. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a frame having side members and an axle supporting said frame, of a torque member extending forwardly from said axle and having pivotal connection with said member, brake mechanism carried by said axle, brake operating mechanism carried by said torque member and operatively connected with said brake mechanism to actuate the same, and manually operable means I on said frame foractuating the brake oper- 6. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a frame having side members and an.

axle supporting said frame, of a torque member secured at one end'to the axle and extending forwardly therefrom, means for I pivotally connecting the forward end of the torque-member to the. frame, brake mechanism carried by the axle, a supporting plate carried by said torque member and having longitudinal slots, supported by said plate,* means engaging the slots to guide said bar, rods connected to the ends of the bar for operating the brake mechanism, and manually operable means on the frame having operable conan equalizing bar nection with said, balintermediate its ends.

7. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a frame, an axle, and springs supportframe upon the axle, of a torque ing the secured to the axle at one end and member extending forwardly therefrom and pivotally connected at its forward end to the frame, brake mechanism carried by the ends of the axle, brake operating mechanism carried by the torque member and comprising a pair of equalizing bars having operative r30 connection at their ends With the brake mechanism, a supporting plate, arms on said .plate having longitudinal slots and ar-' ranged in different horizontal planes to support the bars, one above the other, means on the bars engaging the slots to guide the bars, and manually-operable means, on the lframe having operative connection With said ars.

8. In a' motor Vehicle, the combination With a frame, an axle, andsprings supporting the frame upon the axle, of a torque member extending forwardly from the axle intermediate the, ends thereof, means for pivotally connecting the forward end of said member to the frame to permit the axle to rise and fall and to tilt, brake mechanism on the axle at each end thereof,a supporting plate secured to the torque member and having longitudinally slotted upwardly bent arms, equalizing bars supported by said arms, rods connecting the ends shaft, rods connecting certain of said arms and the equalizing bars intermediatetheir ends, manually operable means on the frame, and rods connecting said means and the other of the arms on the rock shaft;

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of tWo Witnesses.

OLIVER E. BARTHEL.

Witnesses:

ANNA M. Donn, GENEVIEVE E. M GRANN. 

